After discovering its potential for low-cost hydroelectric energy from its five falling water drops along the All-American Canal, IID entered the power industry in 1936. Today, IID Energy serves electricity to 140,000 customers in Imperial County and parts of Riverside and San Diego counties.  

When IID Energy began, its first power customers were served electricity which was produced at a diesel generation plant in Brawley. With the purchase of the Nevada-California Electric Company in 1943, IID expanded its power system to include the Coachella Valley. By that time, Drops 3 and 4 of the All-American Canal were generating hydroelectric power. With the repowering of Unit 2 at the El Centro Steam Plant, IID became the first utility in California to build new power plant capacity in the 1990s. IID now ranks as the sixth largest power utility in California based on power consumption.

How it all got started…
The 1928 passage of the Boulder Canyon Project Act was the springboard for hydroelectric power in the Coachella and Imperial valleys. Part of the Act required the Secretary of the Interior to obtain local guarantees of repayment for the construction costs of the All-American Canal.   

Imperial Valley
The IID recognized that the people of the Imperial Valley could repay their share of the construction loans if they were given the right to utilize the power possibilities on the canal. The Secretary of the Interior and the IID signed such an agreement in 1932, and construction of the All-American Canal began in 1934. Just two years later, in 1936, the IID entered into the electrical power business. Launched in conjunction with the construction of the All-American Canal, the district was able to harness hydroelectric power generated from falling water drops on the All-American Canal.  

Coachella Valley
Prior to 1920, Coachella Valley residents recognized the need for a supplemental water supply from the Colorado River, not only for the 10,000 to 12,000 acres then being irrigated from a limited underground supply of water, but also to permit irrigation of approximately 100,000 acres of fertile, undeveloped desert lands. Because of this need for supplemental water, Coachella worked with Imperial Valley for the All-American Canal legislation.

Congress authorized construction; however, in negotiating repayment contracts with the United States, it was necessary that both the water and power rights of Imperial Irrigation District and the Coachella Valley Water District be determined. According to the terms of a 1934 agreement between Imperial and Coachella, Imperial Irrigation District was given first right to deliver water through the All-American Canal and a 99 year lease on whatever power rights Coachella might have on the canal. As rental for power rights, IID agreed to pay Coachella a percentage of the net proceeds from its power system.  

Coachella, in turn agreed to make available to Imperial -- whenever the latter was ready to serve power in Coachella Valley -- signed three-year contracts representing 80 percent of the power business in the northern valley. This latter provision became an important factor in bringing about an agreement with the private power company for the sale of its properties. 

Today, IID Energy operates eight hydroelectric generation plants, one generating station, and eight gas turbines.

As the need for more electrical energy has increased, IID Energy expanded resources to meet this demand. In 1981, the Board of Director's joined with Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) to purchase an ownership interest of 14.6 megawatts in the Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station in Arizona. IID Energy is a one-third participant with Southern California Edison (SCE) and Arizona Public Service Company in a 75- megawatt steam plant. The utility also purchased an interest in the Palo Verde-San Diego 500-kilovolt transmission line, which allows the district access to cheaper imported energy.  

The Coachella Valley Substation, placed in service in late June 1986, is the key link between the district and Southern California Edison. A 230-kV transmission line constructed in 1988 serves two important roles. First, it allows the district to strengthen its access to the rest of the southeastern power grid. In the case of a disruption of power from the Imperial Valley, the district could use this route to service Coachella Valley customers. Second, it establishes a firm path to export geothermal and other alternative energy (purchased by SCE) from Imperial Valley. A major initiate is currently underway to increase the original 230-k lines with 530-k lines.

A major step to protect the district from major power outages was accomplished in 1987 when IID Energy and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad signed an emergency service agreement in Mexico City. The agreement allows the two utilities to buy low-cost energy from each other when available and provide energy in the event of an emergency in either system.

Also, within the last five years, IID Energy has converted to automatic control of power generation. The year 1986 marked the opening of the System Operations Center, an elaborate microwave center that replaces radios and a regular telephone system. Located in El Centro, the center reaches throughout the Imperial Valley and into Coachella.